“Playing for you has been one of the great joys of my life, and I wish you all the best.”

The 49ers announced the 1-year deal Tuesday evening and the Browns issued a statement concerning Dawson’s departure.

“We want to thank Phil for all of his years of service to the Cleveland Browns. He accomplished a great deal in his time here on the field, as a team leader and in the community. We know how much Phil meant to our organization and our fans, and he will always hold a special place in our franchise’s history and with the city of Cleveland. We want to wish Phil and his family the best of success in San Francisco.”

Dawson, 38, made the Pro Bowl in his final season with the Browns after making 29 of 31 field goal attempts in 2012.

As Dawson aged, his range grew. In the last 2 seasons combine he was 27 of 29 from 40 yards or longer – including 14 of 15 from 50 yards or more.

Dawson made 84.9 percent of his field goals attempted over the last 14 years at Cleveland Browns Stadium while opposing kickers made 76.6 percent.

The Browns used the franchise tag on Dawson in his final 2 seasons and never offered him a contract contrary to what the team asserted publicly.

In 14 seasons, Dawson became the Browns’ all time career field goals leader (305), accrued the highest field goal percentage by a Browns kicker (84.0%) is ranked second on the team’s all time scoring list (1,271 points), third in games played (215) and is the 5th player in team history to play in 200 or more games.